1001 lists of amazing facts & figures informatively and humorously written and extensively researched by best-selling author Russell Ash, this is a fascinating book that will amuse and enlighten kids and adults alike. The lists are grouped by subjects ranging from nature to science, space to sports, countries to culture. Short lists of ranked facts and statistics stand alongside longer narratives of the bizarre and unusual, and comprehensive factfile lists provide quick reference.

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Review:

Did you know that about 15 million burgers are consumed every day in the United States? Or that the wingspan of an adult albatross is greater than the length of a small car? Or that the world's heaviest person (Jon Minnoch, 1941-1983) at one time weighed 1,400 pounds? Or that the finale of M*A*S*H still ranks as the most-viewed television show of all time with over 50 million households watching? The Factastic Book of 1001 Lists may be billed as a children's book, but adults will certainly appreciate these fascinating facts. The biggest, first, and fastest in categories such as "Sports Miscellany," "Films," "Amazing People," "Murder and Punishment," and "Natural Disasters" attract trivia hounds young and old. Each double-page spread is neatly designed with colorful charts and generous illustrations, making this dense collection of information easy to digest and especially easy to pick up and browse for short stints. Russell Ash, who also compiles the annual Top Ten of Everything, knows just how overwhelming this world of abundant Internet information can be. By dividing life into lists and categories, he manages to simultaneously simplify and glorify the amazing planet we inhabit. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson

About the Author:

Russell Ash is the uncontested king of lists. Not simply a career, listmaking is his legend, facts his friends, statistics his sanctuary, trivia his triumph.

He was descended from a family of craftsmen who were London goldsmiths and silversmiths for several generations since the 17th century -- the most notable being Claudius Ash (1792-1854), one of the principal inventors of false teeth. His father was a bookbinder at the British Museum. Born in 1946, educated at Bedford Modern School, Mr. Ash attended Durham University where he earned a Joint Honours BA in Anthropology and Geology.

Russell Ash began his career in publishing as a picture researcher in 1967; he moved on in 1973 to establish his own publishing company, Ash & Grant, and was a director of Weidenfeld & Nicholson and Pavilion Books. Mr. Ash has spent most of the past 30 years as a freelance writer and contributor to almost 100 non-fiction titles on such subjects as art (particularly the Impressionists and other late nineteenth-century painters), animals real and fictitious (he is the official "biographer" of Paddington Bear), and humor.

He has compiled various award-winning popular reference titles, including the perennial bestselling Top Ten of Everything, which has also inspired a weekly network children's television series in the UK (in which he appears). He has also written Incredible Comparisons, which features a variety of fascinating objects side by side with accompanying statistics. The World in One Day is his 1997 bestseller for children, chronicling all the facts about daily life. His latest children's book, Factastic Millennium Facts, is packed with intriguing information and entertaining anecdotes covering the key worldwide political, social , and cultural events of the last 1,000 years.

Russell Ash is currently an author, occasional journalist, and packager of books in the UK and US. He lives in a large Victorian house (which he is restoring) in Sussex, England with his wife, daughter, and two sons. He has recently returned to the family tradition by learning the craft of silversmithing.